Long Gone Venues


I was just reading that on this date in history in 1968, the legendary Fillmore East opened in NYC. That was Bill Graham's venue, and he went on to open one in San Francisco as well, which is still operating. He closed the Fillmore East and never re-opened it, although he had a lot of supporters urging him to do so.

So, I started thinking about places I used to go to for rock shows that are no longer there... for starters, The Starwood at the corner of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. I saw quite a lot of shows there before they closed (1981), including the show where this photo of The Jam was taken (on my birthday. Blondie played there, John Cale, Devo, The Mumps, Dead Boys, Plimsouls, Tuff Darts, Japan, Gary Valentine (ex Blondie), The Quick, The Damned, The Weirdos, The Last, The Screamers, The Dils and just about anyone who could get themselves a booking there.


The Jam - Soundcheck

That's Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton going over songs as the road crew continues to load in gear before they can do a soundcheck.

The Whisky A Go Go is noting at all like it used to be. It closed in 1982 - that is, the club stopped being a club that booked its own shows then, and became a room for any promoter to rent. The Roxy soon followed suit. Soon, the days of "pay to play" LA became much more prevalent.

Gone also are The Masque, Larchmont, Club Lingerie, Club 88, the Palomino and many more. Many of the structures are still there, but rock venues no longer operate in those addresses. The site of the Starwood (as is the beloved Tropicana Motel) is now a strip mall....

Comments

Anonymous said…
great page,
great photos,
the best music.

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